Sharwanand’s name has become synonymous to quality and good cinema. Films like Gamyam, Prasthanam and Journey are examples. If Gamyam became a good commercial hit, it was Journey that has increased his market as Tamilnadu is added to his portfolio. Sharwanand has turned into producer and produced Ko Antey Koti which is releasing on 28 December. Here are the excerpts of Sharwanand's exclusive interview with idlebrain.com -

You made tremendous name for yourself with Gamyam, Prasthanam and Journey?
I always look for a good script and it happened lucky. I am glad to have worked in the first/second movies of sensible directors like Deva Katta, Krish, Saravanan and Anish Kuruvilla. I always feel that if a director gives a confident narration, the film will be equally good. If a director cannot convince one known person like me, he can never convince lacs of unknown audiences. I genuinely want to act in good films and a lot of screening happens at my end. I don’t compromise for money and I don’t do films just because I have free dates. I should get a script that satisfies me and a director who is extremely confident of his work. I feel that the director should command an actor.

You made your debut as hero’s friend character in Sravanthi Ravi Kishore’s film Gowri and now you are acting as a solo hero in his latest film. How do you feel about it?
I come from a well-to-do family. But I struggled a lot to get my first film opportunity. I used to wait in offices of production houses and directors for entire day to get a chance to meet them. I used to travel in benz car and park it in the next lane to make sure that I don’t intimidate producer/director with my background.

Sravanthi Ravi Kishore has given me such a chance when I was struggling to get my first film. He is my uncle and I am grateful to him. I did hero’s friend character in Gowri. Then I did one of the four heroes in Yuvasena. I did second hero in Classmates. Now I am doing the solo hero in Telugu version of Cheran’s film Yemito Ee Maya which is being produced by Sravanthi Ravi Kishore. My films with Sravanthi Ravi Kishore were the stepping stones. I got Vennela offer from Yuvasena film. I got Amma Cheppindi offer because of Vennela. I am given Gamyam role because of Amma Cheppindi. I did over 20 films so far and I am proud of my role in Gowri film.

How did your first Tamil film Journey happen?
I went to Chennai during Robo release along with 10 friends of mine to watch Robo over there. A day before that Ram gave me a tip to go and meet Saravanan who directed Ganesh film. I went and met Saravanan with DVDs of a couple of my films. He greeted me and said that casting of the movie is over and he would consider me in future. He has also narrated me the story of Journey and I felt that I missed a film with terrific screenplay. He has cast Jai and Vimal for the lead roles. After a couple of months, I got a call from Saravanan asking me if I could do a role. Vimal has opted out of the film and I stepped in. The Tamil version has made around 35 crores and Telugu version has made more than 10 crores. It was made in a budget of 4.5 crores. Journey was a turning point in my career. It has developed my market. I didn’t do any film for one year after Prasthanam as I didn’t get a good script. All my one year wait turned out to be fruitful with Journey film.

From the days of visiting various production houses for a role, now you have become a producer. How do you feel about it?
When I took an office and performed pooja, I got the glimpses of entire struggles during 10 years of my career. I used to go production houses at 5 am and return at 8 pm without meeting any director/producer. I had to stand along with junior artists in a line for 15 minutes to get my costumes for the debut film. The process of film production has taught me a lot. I started seeing things from a larger perspective. Film production has given me a lot of confidence as a person.

My parents, brother and sister are the biggest support-system for me. My parents never discouraged me when I was looking to become an actor. They might have had peer pressure when kids of their colleagues/friends achieving many things in other professions. They asked me to follow my heart. But they wanted me to be honest in my work.

Tell us about Ko Antey Koti?
There is a dialogue in that movie - ‘batakadame kastamainappudu - manchodenti, cheddodenti’. This dialogue sums up the entire movie and my characterization. I play the character of Vamsi who has to survive and he has no control over his life. You can’t fit this kind of film in any genre. There is romance, comedy, crime and thrilling elements in the movie. It’s an entertaining film with commercial values.

The runtime of the movie is 2 hours and 12 minutes. It was shot in 92 working days. We have used Red Epic camera with anamorphic lenses.

Tell us about the release?
I am releasing the film on my own through various distributors. Dil Raju and NV Prasad are doing it for Nizam and Ceded respectively. 14 Reels and Vamsi are doing various parts of Andhra. Sandeep Meka is releasing the movie in USA.

Tell us about your future projects?
I am doing a bilingual in the direction of Cheran now. My next Telugu film will start as soon as I get a good script.